NEW B C VESSEL TO CO EAST
»T TDIAI C — G- Legebokoflf photos
AI I KIALo British Columbia crew members (top left) of the new combination seiner-trawler Martin G. Martin are (left to right) C. R. (Bud) Watson, Mack Spring, Dan Lingstrom and Jack Parker. Not pictured are Leo O'Mara, Paul Lingstrom and Ray Proteau. Three co-owners (top right) seen with B*b Benson (second from left) and Doug Booth (extreme right) of Benson's Shipyard are (left to right) Bob Lester, skipper Don Dawson and Wilfred Jenkins. Breaking the traditional bottle over the bow (bottom) is Mrs. M. Martin, widow of Martin G. (Scotty) Martin.
Licensing of All Boats Taking Halibut Urged
Proposal for amendment of halibut regulations to require licensing of all vessels catching halibut, including trollers and camp boats under five tons now exempt, was before the International Pacific Halibut Commission's annual meeting in Seattle as The Fisherman went to press Thursday this week.
The 1967 halibut layup conference, composed of delegates from Canadian and American unions
i
Dispute Idles Trawl Fleet
Refusal of fish companies to make any offer on terms for a new 1967 price agreement has resulted in idling of most trawlers in the state of Washington.
Following expiry last December 24 of the 1966 agreement, members of the otter trawl branch of the Alaska Fishermen's Union requested a three cent across the board increase in prices for bot-tomfish.
Further approaches for a smaller increase, put to the companies by trawler skippers represented by the Fishermen's Marketing Association, also met with a negative response. The companies proposed instead that fishing continue on the basis of the old agreement for three months.
Fishermen, contending that the tieup has the aspects of a lockout, are standing by their demand for a new price agreement before resuming operations and spokesmen for both the Union and the Association point out that no significant increases in basic prices for bot-
See DISPUTE — Page 8
and vessel owners associations, in sending the request to the Commission, said it regarded licensing of all such boats by the Commission as essential to strengthening its own layup program.
The conference also asked the Commission to make public its acknowledgment, in sessions earlier this week, of the importance of the voluntary layup program and the contribution it had made to control of the fishery.
In other proposals to the Commission, the conference stated its opposition to beam or otter trawlers retaining halibut at any time in any area and agreed to await the findings of an extensive Commission study now being made before proceeding' with a suggestion to raise the minimum size limit for halibut from five to seven pounds. AREAS MERGED
With the exception of a proposal to consolidate Areas 1 and 2 into a single area, in which the conference concurred, no changes were contained in recommendations for regulation of the 1967 fishery made by Commission staff members.
Main opening in Areas 2 and 3 will be May 9, according to the recommendations, with the quota for Area 2 set at 23 million pounds and for Area 3 at 33 million pounds. The conference concurred in both recommendations.
In Area 3B, also with a May 9 opening, the conference asked for a four million pound quota as opposed to 3.5 million pounds recommended.
The Commission staff made no recommendation for closing dates in these three areas, but the conference asked for an October 15 closing date or earlier upon taking of the quota for Areas 2 and
See HALIBUT — Page 8
Vol. XXX, No. 4
10 CENTS VANCOUVER, B.C., FEBRUARY 3, 1967
Union Raps Failure To Count US Boats
Strong disagreement with the federal fisheries department's method of evaluating foreign exploitation of BC fishery resources was expressed this week by UFAWU secretary Homer Stevens in a letter to Pacific area fisheries director W. R. Hourston.
Stevens pointed out that the Union's standing committee on fishery regulations earlier had welcomed the department's announcement that information on foreign fishing activity off the BC coast would be made available to interested parties.
The Union letter noted, however, that the report issued for the week ending January 21 listed only Soviet and Japanese vessels and made no mention of the activities of US fishermen.
Union spokesmen have expressed the belief that the very limited scope of the department's survey reflects the position taken by federal fisheries minister H. J. Robichaud, who stated in the House of Commons last October that "foreign fleets began operation off our Pacific coast a little more than a year ago," ignoring the long standing objections of BC fishermen to US fishing activity in Hecate Strait and other areas.
SURVEY INACCURATE
"Organized fishermen in BC demanded extension of our territorial waters long before the arrival of any foreign fishing vessels from Japan or the USSR and it was precisely the extensive development of large numbers of US fishing vessels along our coast which prompted Canadian fishermen to demand action by our government.
"We see no valid reason for not reporting the large number
of US fishing vessels, and by not reporting them the department cannot present an accurate survey of foreign exploitation of these fishery resources," Stevens declared.
Five areas are covered by the department's survey encompassing the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, Queen Charlotte Sound and the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Because US fishing vessels have operated extensively in Hecate Strait and Dixon Entrance, the Union stated, these areas should be included in the survey so that a full picture of
the extent of foreign operations in BC waters can be obtained.
The Union letter expressed confidence in the ability of fisheries department personnel to classify foreign fishing vessels, despite reports that the department had encountered difficulty identifying US vessels when intermingled with Canadian craft on the grounds.
"We are of the opinion that if other services, such as Air Force personnel, are participating in surveillance of the fishing fleets, they can be trained to recognize foreign fishing vessels of US origin," it declares.
Union, Guild Agree On Safety Demands
Members of the UFAWU navigational aids and safety committee, meeting January 27 with members of a Canadian Merchant Service Guild committee investigating recent sinkings of tugs in BC waters, supported suggestions put forward for a united stand by maritime unions on the issues of safety and compulsory inspection of all commercial vessels.
Representing the UFAWU at the meeting were president Steve Stavenes, general organizer Harold Wilcox and general executive board members Reg Payne and Harry Allison, who discussed mutual problems of concern with Guild captains Griff Morris, Don McKenzie, Art Teplow and Merle Minnette.
The Guild committee was set up recently to make a thorough in-
Centennial Cook Book New Edition on Sale
The eagerly awaited second edition of the Centennial Cook Book, completely revised and enlarged, is now in the last stages of publication.
The Women's Auxiliaries Central Council announced this week that it will go on sale in a few weeks.
The first edition published in 1958, British Columbia's centennial year, has long been sold out, and a ready sale is anticipated for the new Canadian Centennial edition.
This second edition features a larger fish section and a foreign foods section of recipes from other countries brought to Canada by its pioneers and handed down from generation to generation—a most appropriate centennial contribution.
It contains approximately 130 pages of recipes, indexed, and is bound in an attractive hard cover.
Sale price is $2.50, including sales tax.
Copies may be obtained through any women's auxiliary or by sending in the coupon on page 6 of this issue.
quiry into the many recent sinkings in the towboat industry and has been collecting and evaluating information on the disasters, including the testimony of survivors.
During the discussion, Guild members pointed out that since 1958 a total of 23 wooden tow-boats had been sunk with loss of three lives while sinkings involving 15 steel boats over the same period had resulted in the deaths of 20 men.
Representatives of both unions were agreed on the need for compulsory inspection of all commercial vessels regardless of tonnage, stricter regulatory procedures and practical demonstrations on the use of inflatable life rafts and other life saving and fire fighting equipment.
COOPERATION NECESSARY
UFAWU spokesmen outlined the circumstances of recent sinkings in the fishing industry and the Union's position in consistently demanding compulsory inspections on all fishing vessels and establishment of more stringent regulations governing stability and load requirements.
The Union brief on stability tests which was put before the federal transport department last year was given to the Guild corn-
See SAFETY — Page 8
Allen Will Head Nanaimo Station
New director of the Fisheries Research Board's Nanaimo Biological Station is K. Radway Allen, now program head of ana-dromous fish investigations at the St. Andrews, NB, Biological Station, the Board announced this week.
Allen, former director of fisheries research for New Zealand, will assume his new post in June.
